CHENNAI, JULY 12 :  Marut Drones, India’s leading drone manufacturer and Drone as a Service provider company, on Friday announced its foray into Tamil Nadu with an aim to create 500 drone entrepreneurs by the end of 2024.
By using drones for spraying fertilizers, farmers can potentially earn up to Rs 50,000-Rs 60,000 per month.
Marut Drones is also providing its ‘Drone As a Service’ for small scale farmers in Tamil Nadu, a company release said.
With approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for manufacturing small and medium drones, Marut Drones aims to expand its dealer network in Tamil Nadu and educate farmers by training them in drone operation.
This initiative is expected to attract young individuals to pursue agriculture as a profession and become drone operators.
The company is also collaborating with Annamalai University to provide drone training and farmers with bank loans for Marut agri drones can also be entitled for a 6% interest subsidy under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
The Tamil Nadu farming community has been trying to overcome long-standing challenges like labor shortage, climate change-specific pest attacks such as rice stem borer, which attacks paddy crops
in the Samba and Kuruvai season and the brown plant hopper that attacks high-yielding paddy varieties. Rising temperatures and low rainfall have dried up groundwater in the key agricultural regions like Thanjavur-Tiruvarur, leading to increased costs and lower yields.
The adoption of drone technology among small-scale farmers will not only help in precision-spraying, but also reduce water and fertilizer application by 70%, increasing the yield by 30%.
Farmers in Tamil Nadu are embracing drone technology for cultivating six major crops – paddy, pulses, millets, and sugarcanes. The drone technology is being seen as an effective measure by farmers in Coimbatore for cotton cultivation.
Marut Drones is also involving the farming community in various activities, including training them
in the use of drones, better pest management and providing information about loans and subsidies.
While the drone technology is also being actively promoted by organizations such as the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs), local gram panchayats and farmer cooperative societies in the state, the adoption among farmers is still in its early stage.
Founder and CEO – Prem Kumar Vislawath highlighted the company’s milestones and future plans
for Tamil Nadu saying, “Certainly, there is an increased demand from farmers in Tamil Nadu now, farmers admit that it’s a cost effective and time saving alternative. Both excess rains and severe drought have affected cultivation in the state – paddy needs to be irrigated at least 10 times per
crop season of cultivation, while Cotton needs irrigation once every 15 days for which labourers
have to be paid, Rs 400 per person for every 30 kg of harvest.”
“The adoption of drone technology will counter the acute labour shortage in the region”, he said.
The company is planning a statewide awareness drive for farmers to inform them about the financial advantages of adoption of drone technology.
The drone tech solutions will help in climate resilient agriculture, manage pests and in turn, bring down the farming costs while ensuring additional yield.(UNI)